Sage advice

Herbal medicine has been around for thousands of years and you don’t use things for thousands of years without something to back that up. Yes, mistakes can be made and held onto for millennia, humanity is good at that, but hundreds of herbs used for thousands of years can’t all be simple-minded belief in magic. However, that’s the view you might form if some voices are to be believed which is why studies, and there are many of them, that come along supporting the effectiveness of herbal medicines are worth talking about. One of the latest of these relates to some compounds found in sage and rosemary and how these compounds can have profound anti-inflammatory effects.

The new study looked at two compounds, carnosol (CS) and carnosic acid (CA), both found in a range of plants including sage and rosemary. The researchers studied isolated forms of these compounds in both human cells and also mice. They found that these two diterpenoids inhibited enzymes involved in inflammation, fever, and pain. Excessive formation of these enzymes is found in chronic inflammatory conditions and human tumours.

The two enzymes blocked by CS and CA are 5-LO and mPGES-1.

The researchers say that their findings offer an insight into the anti-inflammatory actions of sage and rosemary and justifies their use. Further testing in humans is required for deeper elucidation of how the herbs are working but it is another reminder that herbal medicine has a sage foundation.

Source:  British Journal of Pharmacology